Method and system for providing standard ultrasound scan plane views using automatic scan acquisition rotation and view detection

ABSTRACT

A system and method for acquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views is provided. The method includes acquiring a scan plane by an ultrasound probe positioned at a scan position over a region of interest. The method includes identifying the scan plane as a first standard view. The method includes automatically adjusting a scan acquisition angle until a second standard view is determined. The adjusting the scan acquisition angle includes rotating and/or tilting the scan acquisition angle. The method includes acquiring, by the ultrasound probe positioned at the scan position, an additional scan plane at the adjusted scan acquisition angle until the second standard view is determined. The method includes automatically determining whether the additional scan plane is the second standard view. The method includes presenting the additional scan plane having the second standard view at a display system.

FIELD

Certain embodiments relate to ultrasound imaging. More specifically,certain embodiments relate to a method and system for providing standardultrasound scan plane views. In various embodiments, an acquisition scanplane is automatically rotated without rotation of the ultrasound probeuntil an acceptable, desired standard scan plane is detected forpresentation at a display system.

BACKGROUND

Ultrasound imaging is a medical imaging technique for imaging organs andsoft tissues in a human body. Ultrasound imaging uses real time,non-invasive high frequency sound waves to produce a series oftwo-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) images.

In various applications, the acquisition of one or more standard scanplanes may be performed to provide a medical diagnosis. For example, atransthoracic echocardiogram may involve acquiring ultrasound imagesthat include a number of standard views, such as a four chamber (4CH)view, a two chamber (2CH) view, an apical long axis (APLAX) view, andthe like. To acquire the desired standard views, an ultrasound operatormay manipulate the probe to an image acquisition position, such as anapical window over the apex of a heart. The ultrasound operator maymanually rotate the probe to different rotational positions to acquirethe different standard views. However, the manual rotation of theultrasound probe may cause the probe to glide away from the apicalwindow. Additionally, the manual rotation of the probe on ribs of apatient may cause discomfort to the patient. The ultrasound operator mayalso have difficulty locating certain standard views, such as the 2CHview, because the probe is rotated to a position partly covering ribs ofthe patient. The rotation of the probe to the position partly coveringthe ribs may also degrade image quality. For example, the ribs of thepatient may reduce the effective aperture of the probe and possiblycontribute to reflection artifacts.

Instead of manually rotating an ultrasound probe to individually acquirethe ultrasound scan planes of the desired standard views, an ultrasoundoperator may acquire one or more full 3D ultrasound volumes of a regionof interest, such as the heart. The standard viewing planes maysubsequently be detected in the 3D volume and presented at a displaysystem for analysis. However, 3D ultrasound is more complicated andtime-consuming to set-up. Moreover, the frame rate is usually much lowerthan in 2D or thin slab ultrasound, resulting in the physical resolutionof an image plane being much lower. 3D ultrasound also recordssubstantially more ultrasound data and much of this data is unused toperform the needed analysis.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosureas set forth in the remainder of the present application with referenceto the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A system and/or method is provided for acquiring standard ultrasoundscan plane views, substantially as shown in and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentdisclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,will be more fully understood from the following description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary ultrasound system that isoperable to acquire standard ultrasound scan plane views, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a display of an exemplary standard ultrasound scan plane, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a display of an exemplary standard ultrasound scan plane, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may be utilizedfor acquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments may be found in a method and system for acquiringstandard ultrasound scan plane views. Various embodiments have thetechnical effect of acquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views byautomatically rotating an acquisition scan plane without rotation of theultrasound probe until an acceptable, desired standard scan plane isdetected for presentation at a display system.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofcertain embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunctionwith the appended drawings. To the extent that the figures illustratediagrams of the functional blocks of various embodiments, the functionalblocks are not necessarily indicative of the division between hardwarecircuitry. Thus, for example, one or more of the functional blocks(e.g., processors or memories) may be implemented in a single piece ofhardware (e.g., a general purpose signal processor or a block of randomaccess memory, hard disk, or the like) or multiple pieces of hardware.Similarly, the programs may be stand alone programs, may be incorporatedas subroutines in an operating system, may be functions in an installedsoftware package, and the like. It should be understood that the variousembodiments are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentalityshown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the embodimentsmay be combined, or that other embodiments may be utilized and thatstructural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the various embodiments. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and thescope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralof said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated.Furthermore, references to “an exemplary embodiment,” “variousembodiments,” “certain embodiments,” “a representative embodiment,” andthe like are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existenceof additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments“comprising,” “including,” or “having” an element or a plurality ofelements having a particular property may include additional elementsnot having that property.

Also as used herein, the term “image” broadly refers to both viewableimages and data representing a viewable image. However, many embodimentsgenerate (or are configured to generate) at least one viewable image. Inaddition, as used herein, the phrase “image” is used to refer to anultrasound mode such as B-mode (2D mode), M-mode, three-dimensional (3D)mode, CF-mode, PW Doppler, CW Doppler, MGD, and/or sub-modes of B-modeand/or CF such as Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging (SWEI), TVI, Angio,B-flow, BMI, BMI_Angio, and in some cases also MM, CM, TVD where the“image” and/or “plane” includes a single beam or multiple beams.

Furthermore, the term processor or processing unit, as used herein,refers to any type of processing unit that can carry out the requiredcalculations needed for the various embodiments, such as single ormulti-core: CPU, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), Graphics Board, DSP,FPGA, ASIC or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that various embodiments described herein thatgenerate or form images may include processing for forming images thatin some embodiments includes beamforming and in other embodiments doesnot include beamforming. For example, an image can be formed withoutbeamforming, such as by multiplying the matrix of demodulated data by amatrix of coefficients so that the product is the image, and wherein theprocess does not form any “beams”. Also, forming of images may beperformed using channel combinations that may originate from more thanone transmit event (e.g., synthetic aperture techniques).

In various embodiments, ultrasound processing to form images isperformed, for example, including ultrasound beamforming, such asreceive beamforming, in software, firmware, hardware, or a combinationthereof. One implementation of an ultrasound system having a softwarebeamformer architecture formed in accordance with various embodiments isillustrated in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary ultrasound system that isoperable to acquire standard ultrasound scan plane views, in accordancewith various embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown anultrasound system 100. The ultrasound system 100 comprises a transmitter102, an ultrasound probe 104, a transmit beamformer 110, a receiver 118,a receive beamformer 120, A/D converters 122, a RF processor 124, aRF/IQ buffer 126, a user input module 130, a signal processor 132, animage buffer 136, a display system 134, an archive 138, and a trainingengine 160.

The transmitter 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to drive an ultrasound probe 104. Theultrasound probe 104 may comprise a two dimensional (2D) array ofpiezoelectric elements. The ultrasound probe 104 may comprise a group oftransmit transducer elements 106 and a group of receive transducerelements 108, that normally constitute the same elements. In certainembodiment, the ultrasound probe 104 may be operable to acquireultrasound image data covering at least a substantial portion of ananatomy, such as the heart, a blood vessel, or any suitable anatomicalstructure. The ultrasound probe 104 can be any suitable ultrasound probeoperable to acquire ultrasound scan planes at different rotationaland/or tilt angles without physically moving the ultrasound probe. In anexemplary embodiment, the ultrasound probe 104 may include a onedimensional transducer array that can be mechanically oriented in aplurality of orientations by a motor in response to instructions fromthe signal processor 132. In a preferred embodiment, the probe 104includes a 2D array of ultrasound elements operable to electronicallytransmit ultrasonic signals and acquire ultrasound data in anyorientation in three dimensional space, called a four dimensional (e4D)matrix probe. For example, the e4D ultrasound probe 104 may be the GE4Vc-D four dimensional (4D) matrix cardiac probe. The processing of theacquired images in any steered direction can be performed partially orcompletely by probe-internal sub-aperture processing, by system sidesoftware beamforming, or by beamforming in hardware. In an exemplaryembodiment, the acquired scan planes are either 2D images and/or thinslab images. For example, thin slab images may be acquired usingmulti-line acquisition (MLA) where a plurality of transmit beams arearranged spatially along a plane and multiple receive beams for eachtransmit beam are received orthogonal to a plane width of the transmitbeams. In various embodiments, a thickness of the thin slab images maybe 7 millimeters or less.

The transmit beamformer 110 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control the transmitter102 which, through a transmit sub-aperture beamformer 114, drives thegroup of transmit transducer elements 106 to emit ultrasonic transmitsignals into a region of interest (e.g., human, animal, undergroundcavity, physical structure and the like). The transmitted ultrasonicsignals may be back-scattered from structures in the object of interest,like blood cells or tissue, to produce echoes. The echoes are receivedby the receive transducer elements 108.

The group of receive transducer elements 108 in the ultrasound probe 104may be operable to convert the received echoes into analog signals,undergo sub-aperture beamforming by a receive sub-aperture beamformer116 and are then communicated to a receiver 118. The receiver 118 maycomprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may beoperable to receive the signals from the receive sub-aperture beamformer116. The analog signals may be communicated to one or more of theplurality of A/D converters 122.

The plurality of A/D converters 122 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to convert theanalog signals from the receiver 118 to corresponding digital signals.The plurality of A/D converters 122 are disposed between the receiver118 and the RF processor 124. Notwithstanding, the disclosure is notlimited in this regard. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the pluralityof A/D converters 122 may be integrated within the receiver 118.

The RF processor 124 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to demodulate the digital signalsoutput by the plurality of A/D converters 122. In accordance with anembodiment, the RF processor 124 may comprise a complex demodulator (notshown) that is operable to demodulate the digital signals to form I/Qdata pairs that are representative of the corresponding echo signals.The RF or I/Q signal data may then be communicated to an RF/IQ buffer126. The RF/IQ buffer 126 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide temporary storageof the RF or I/Q signal data, which is generated by the RF processor124.

The receive beamformer 120 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform digitalbeamforming processing to, for example, sum the delayed channel signalsreceived from RF processor 124 via the RF/IQ buffer 126 and output abeam summed signal. The resulting processed information may be the beamsummed signal that is output from the receive beamformer 120 andcommunicated to the signal processor 132. In accordance with someembodiments, the receiver 118, the plurality of A/D converters 122, theRF processor 124, and the beamformer 120 may be integrated into a singlebeamformer, which may be digital. In various embodiments, the ultrasoundsystem 100 comprises a plurality of receive beamformers 120.

The user input module 130 may be utilized to input patient data, scanparameters, settings, select protocols and/or templates, select one ormore desired standard views, provide a command for storing a displayedscan plane, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the user inputmodule 130 may be operable to configure, manage and/or control operationof one or more components and/or modules in the ultrasound system 100.In this regard, the user input module 130 may be operable to configure,manage and/or control operation of the transmitter 102, the ultrasoundprobe 104, the transmit beamformer 110, the receiver 118, the receivebeamformer 120, the RF processor 124, the RF/IQ buffer 126, the userinput module 130, the signal processor 132, the image buffer 136, thedisplay system 134, and/or the archive 138. The user input module 130may include button(s), rotary encoder(s), a touchscreen, motiontracking, voice recognition, a mousing device, keyboard, camera and/orany other device capable of receiving a user directive. In certainembodiments, one or more of the user input modules 130 may be integratedinto other components, such as the display system 134, for example. Asan example, user input module 130 may include a touchscreen display.

In various embodiments, a protocol and/or one or more desired standardviews may be selected during or at the onset of an imaging procedure inresponse to a directive received via the user input module 130. Forexample, an ultrasound operator may identify a transthoracicechocardiogram acquired at an apical window protocol at an onset of animaging procedure via the user input module 130. The protocol mayinclude a number of pre-defined standard views, such as a four chamber(4CH) view, a two chamber (2CH) view, an apical long axis (APLAX) view,and the like. The selected protocol may be provided via the user inputmodule 130 to the signal processor 132 so that the signal processor 132may apply view detection processing and acquisition rotation and/or tiltparameters. The view detection processing applied by the signalprocessor 132 may automatically detect each of the standard views. Theacquisition rotation and/or tilt parameters may be applied by the signalprocessor 132 to automatically rotate and/or tilt scan plane acquisitionto acquire each of the standard views once the ultrasound probe 104 isproperly positioned at the apical window. As another example, anultrasound operator may select automatic identification of a particularstandard view, such as a 2CH view or any suitable view, during animaging procedure so that the signal processor 132 may automaticallyrotate and/or tilt the scan plane acquisition from a current standardview, such as a 4CH view, until an acceptable scan plane of the desired2CH view is acquired by the probe 104.

The signal processor 132 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to process ultrasound scandata (i.e., summed IQ signal) for generating ultrasound images forpresentation on a display system 134. The signal processor 132 isoperable to perform one or more processing operations according to aplurality of selectable ultrasound modalities on the acquired ultrasoundscan data. In an exemplary embodiment, the signal processor 132 may beoperable to perform display processing and/or control processing, amongother things. Acquired ultrasound scan data may be processed inreal-time during a scanning session as the echo signals are received.Additionally or alternatively, the ultrasound scan data may be storedtemporarily in the RF/IQ buffer 126 during a scanning session andprocessed in less than real-time in a live or off-line operation. Invarious embodiments, the processed image data can be presented at thedisplay system 134 and/or may be stored at the archive 138. The archive138 may be a local archive, a Picture Archiving and Communication System(PACS), or any suitable device for storing images and relatedinformation.

The signal processor 132 may be one or more central processing units,microprocessors, microcontrollers, and/or the like. The signal processor132 may be an integrated component, or may be distributed across variouslocations, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, the signal processor132 may comprise a view identification processor 140 and an imagerotation processor 150 and may be capable of receiving input informationfrom a user input module 130 and/or archive 138, generating an outputdisplayable by a display system 134, and manipulating the output inresponse to input information from a user input module 130, among otherthings. The signal processor 132, view identification processor 140, andimage rotation processor 150 may be capable of executing any of themethod(s) and/or set(s) of instructions discussed herein in accordancewith the various embodiments, for example.

The ultrasound system 100 may be operable to continuously acquireultrasound scan data at a frame rate that is suitable for the imagingsituation in question. Typical frame rates range from 20-120 but may belower or higher. The acquired ultrasound scan data may be displayed onthe display system 134 at a display-rate that can be the same as theframe rate, or slower or faster. An image buffer 136 is included forstoring processed frames of acquired ultrasound scan data that are notscheduled to be displayed immediately. Preferably, the image buffer 136is of sufficient capacity to store at least several minutes' worth offrames of ultrasound scan data. The frames of ultrasound scan data arestored in a manner to facilitate retrieval thereof according to itsorder or time of acquisition. The image buffer 136 may be embodied asany known data storage medium.

The signal processor 132 may include a view identification processor 140that comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to analyze an acquired ultrasound scan plane todetermine whether a standard view is provided and if so, identify theparticular standard view. The view identification processor 140 mayinclude image detection algorithms, one or more deep neural networks(e.g., a convolutional neural network) and/or may utilize any suitableform of image detection techniques or machine learning processingfunctionality configured to automatically identify standard views of ananatomical structure provided in the ultrasound image data. For example,the view identification processor 140 may be made up of an input layer,an output layer, and one or more hidden layers in between the input andoutput layers. Each of the layers may be made up of a plurality ofprocessing nodes that may be referred to as neurons. For example, theinput layer may have a neuron for each pixel or a group of pixels from ascan plane of an anatomical structure. The output layer may have aneuron corresponding to each pre-defined standard view. As an example,if imaging a heart, the output layer may include neurons for a 4CH view,a 2CH view, an APLAX view, a parasternal long axis (PLAX) view, a shortaxis apical level (SAX-AP) view, a short axis papillary muscle level(SAX-PM) view, a short axis mitral valve level (SAX-MV) view, an unknownview, an other view, and/or any suitable view. Each neuron of each layermay perform a processing function and pass the processed ultrasoundimage information to one of a plurality of neurons of a downstream layerfor further processing. As an example, neurons of a first layer maylearn to recognize edges of structure in the ultrasound image data. Theneurons of a second layer may learn to recognize shapes based on thedetected edges from the first layer. The neurons of a third layer maylearn positions of the recognized shapes relative to landmarks in theultrasound image data. The processing performed by the viewidentification processor 140 deep neural network (e.g., convolutionalneural network) may identify standard views of an anatomical structurein ultrasound image data with a high degree of probability.

The view identification processor 140 may be configured to provideinformation regarding the view type and/or view quality of the currentlyacquired scan plane to an image rotation processor 150 of the signalprocessor 132. In various embodiments, the view identification processor140 may be configured to automatically store an acceptable or beststandard view once detected. The acceptable or best detected standardview may be stored at archive 138 or any suitable data storage medium.Additionally and/or alternatively, the view identification processor 140may be configured to store an acquired scan plane of a desired standardview in response to a user input via the user input module 130 and/or inresponse to a user or default setting, such as an elapsed viewing timeof a standard view at the display system 134.

The signal processor 132 may include an image rotation processor 150that comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to automatically rotate and/or tilt the acquisition ofthe scan plane to obtain a desired and acceptable or best standard view.The image rotation processor 150 may be configured to provide a rotationand/or tilt of a pre-defined angle or range of angles corresponding witha selected standard view. For example, in response to an instruction toacquire a 2CH view of a heart after an ultrasound probe 104 is manuallypositioned at the apical window of a patient and a 4CH view is acquiredas identified by the view identification processor 140, the imagerotation processor 150 may automatically rotate the scan planeacquisition angle a pre-defined amount, such as −60 degrees (i.e., 60degrees rotation in a counter-clockwise direction) from the 4CH view, toacquire a scan plane. In various embodiments, the view identificationprocessor 140 may be configured to analyze the acquired scan plane todetermine whether an acceptable 2CH view was acquired. The viewidentification processor 140 may be configured to provide informationregarding the view type and/or view quality of the currently acquiredscan plane to the image rotation processor 150. If a scan plane havingan acceptable 2CH view has been acquired, the scan play may be presentedat the display system 134. If the acquired scan plane does not providean acceptable 2CH view, the image rotation processor 150 may iterativelyacquire additional scan planes that are analyzed by the viewidentification processor 140 until an acceptable 2CH view is identified.

In various embodiment, an acceptable standard view provided by a scanplane may be defined by one of a plurality of modes. For example, anacceptable standard view may be a first standard view, an estimated beststandard view, or a best standard view, among other things. The firststandard view mode involves presenting the first selected standard viewprovided in a scan plane as identified by view identification processor140. As an example, if the image rotation processor 150 rotates theacquisition scan plane −60 degrees from the 4CH view and thecorresponding acquired scan plane provides a 2CH as identified by theview identification processor 140, the scan plane is presented at thedisplay system 134. If the scan plane does not provide a 2CH view, theimage rotation processor 150 acquires additional scan planes atdifferent rotational angles until a 2CH view is identified by the viewidentification processor 140. For example, if a 2CH view is provided ata particular patient from −44 to −58 degrees of rotation from the 4CHview, the image rotation processor may acquire scan planes at −60degrees, −40 degrees, −80 degrees, and −50 degrees. The viewidentification processor 140 would identify the scan plane acquired atthe −50 degrees of rotation as having a 2CH view and that scan plane ispresented at the display system 134. In other words, the image rotationprocessor 150 may stop acquiring scan planes at different angles ofrotation from the 4CH view once a first scan plane having a 2CH view isacquired as identified by the view identification processor 140. Invarious embodiments, the first standard view mode may be the mostefficient manner of obtaining the desired standard view but may notprovide a best scan plane. For example, if a 2CH view is provided at aparticular patient from −44 to −58 degrees of rotation from the 4CH viewand the best 2CH view is provided at −52 degrees, the first acquiredscan plane having the 2CH view at −50 degrees in the above example maynot be the most desirable view.

The estimated best standard view mode involves identifying the outeredges in a range of angles for a particular standard view of aparticular patient and selecting the scan plane at the angle in themiddle of the identified range. For example, if a 2CH view is providedat a particular patient from −44 to −58 degrees of rotation from the 4CHview, the image rotation processor may acquire scan planes at −60degrees, −40 degrees, −80 degrees, −50 degrees, −55 degrees, −58degrees, −59 degrees, −45 degrees, −43, degrees, and −44 degrees. Theview identification processor 140 would identify the scan planesacquired at the −44 and −58 degrees of rotation as having the outeredges of 2CH views and would select the scan plane in the middle of thatrange (i.e., the scan plane at −51 degrees) for presentation at thedisplay system 134. In other words, the image rotation processor 150 maystop acquiring scan planes at different angles of rotation from the 4CHview once the outer edges of a range of angles for a particular standardview plane of a particular patient are identified by the viewidentification processor 140. In various embodiments, the estimated beststandard view mode may be less efficient than the first standard viewmode for obtaining the desired standard view but may provide a scanplane having a better view quality. For example, if the best 2CH view isprovided at −52 degrees, the scan plane provided at −51 degrees by theestimated best standard view mode may be a higher quality view than thescan plane acquired at −50 degrees using the first standard view mode inthe above examples.

The best standard view mode involves identifying all angles for aparticular standard view of a particular patient and selecting the scanplane identified as having the highest quality by the viewidentification processor 140. For example, if a 2CH view is provided ata particular patient from −44 to −58 degrees of rotation from the 4CHview with the scan plane at 52 degrees having the highest quality, theimage rotation processor 150 may acquire scan planes at −60 degrees, −40degrees, −80 degrees, −50 degrees, −51 degrees, −52 degrees, −53degrees, −54 degrees, −55 degrees, −56 degrees, −57 degrees, −58degrees, −59 degrees, −49 degrees, −48 degrees, −47 degrees, −46degrees, −45 degrees, −44 degrees, and −43 degrees. The viewidentification processor 140 would identify the scan planes acquired atthe −44 through −58 degrees of rotation as providing 2CH views and wouldselect the scan plane having the highest quality (i.e., the scan planeat −52 degrees) for presentation at the display system 134. In otherwords, the image rotation processor 150 may stop acquiring scan planesat different angles of rotation from the 4CH view once all of the scanplanes providing a particular standard view plane of a particularpatient are identified by the view identification processor 140. Invarious embodiments, the best standard view mode may be less efficientthan both of the first standard view mode and the estimated beststandard view mode for obtaining the desired standard view but mayprovide a scan plane having a highest view quality.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are displays 200 of exemplary standard ultrasound scanplanes 210, in accordance with various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2and 3 , each display 200 includes a scan plane 210 corresponding to astandard view, a view identifier 220, and an angle of rotation 230 froma previous or primary standard view (if applicable). Referring to FIG. 2, an ultrasound operator may manually move an ultrasound probe 104 toacquire a scan plane of a standard view. For example, the ultrasoundoperator may manually move the probe 104 to the apical window over theapex of a heart of the patient. The probe 104 acquires scan planes thatare processed by the signal processor 132 and presented at the displaysystem 134. The signal processor 132 may present the standard view 210at the display 200 of the display system 134 once the probe 104 isappropriately positioned. The signal processor 132 may update thedisplay 200 to provide a view identifier 220 corresponding to thestandard view detected by the signal processor 132. As an example, thescan plane 210 of a 4CH standard view is presented at the display 200along with the view identifier 220 specifying the 4CH standard view inFIG. 2 .

After a first standard view is acquired and presented at display 200 asshown in FIG. 2 , an additional standard view, different from the firststandard view, may be automatically acquired and presented at thedisplay 200 in response to, for example, a view selection provided viathe user input module 130, a selected protocol, or the like. Referringto FIG. 3 , the signal processor 132 may automatically rotate the scanplane acquisition a pre-defined amount from the 4CH view, such as −60degrees (i.e., 60 degrees rotation in a counter-clockwise direction), toacquire the additional scan plane. The signal processor 132 appliesimage detection techniques to determine whether an acceptable 2CHstandard view is present in the acquired scan plane. The signalprocessor 132 presents the scan plane at the display 200 of the displaysystem 132 if an acceptable 2CH standard view is identified. If anacceptable 2CH standard view is not present in the acquired scan plane,the signal processor 132 iteratively rotates the scan plane acquisitionuntil an acceptable 2CH standard view is identified. For example, thesignal processor 132 may control the ultrasound system 100 to acquirescan planes at −60 degrees, −40 degrees, −80 degrees, −50 degrees, −45degrees, and −43 degrees. The signal processor 132 may identify the scanplane acquired at −43 degrees rotation from the 4CH standard view is anacceptable 2CH standard view. The scan plane 210 corresponding with theacceptable 2CH standard view is presented at the display 200 of thedisplay system 132. The signal processor 132 may update the display 200to provide a view identifier 220 corresponding to the standard viewdetected by the signal processor 132. As an example, the scan plane 210of a 2CH standard view is presented at the display 200 along with theview identifier 220 specifying the 2CH standard view in FIG. 3 . Invarious embodiments, the angle of rotation 230 from the previous orprimary standard view may be presented at the display 200 of the displaysystem 134. According to the above example, the scan plane 210 of the2CH standard view is presented at the display 200 with a view identifier220 specifying the 2CH standard view and the −43 degree angle ofrotation 230 as shown in FIG. 3 .

Referring again to FIG. 1 , the display system 134 may be any devicecapable of communicating visual information to a user. For example, adisplay system 134 may include a liquid crystal display, a lightemitting diode display, and/or any suitable display or displays. Thedisplay system 134 can be operable to present a display 200 ofinformation from the signal processor 132 and/or archive 138, such asultrasound scan planes 210, view identifiers 220, an angle of rotation230 (if applicable), and/or any suitable information.

The archive 138 may be one or more computer-readable memories integratedwith the ultrasound system 100 and/or communicatively coupled (e.g.,over a network) to the ultrasound system 100, such as a PictureArchiving and Communication System (PACS), a server, a hard disk, floppydisk, CD, CD-ROM, DVD, compact storage, flash memory, random accessmemory, read-only memory, electrically erasable and programmableread-only memory and/or any suitable memory. The archive 138 may includedatabases, libraries, sets of information, or other storage accessed byand/or incorporated with the signal processor 132, for example. Thearchive 138 may be able to store data temporarily or permanently, forexample. The archive 138 may be capable of storing medical image data,data generated by the signal processor 132, and/or instructions readableby the signal processor 132, among other things. In various embodiments,the archive 138 stores medical image data, image detection instructions,and acquisition rotation and tilt instructions, for example.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the training engine 160 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto train the neurons of the deep neural network(s) of the viewidentification processor 140 to automatically identify standards view ofan anatomical structure provided in an ultrasound scan plane. Forexample, the training engine 160 may train the deep neural networks ofthe view identification processor 140 using databases(s) of classifiedscan planes. As an example, a view identification processor 140 deepneural network may be trained by the training engine 160 with scanplanes of particular standard view of a particular anatomical structureto train the view identification processor 140 with respect to thecharacteristics of the particular standard view of the anatomicalstructure, such as the appearance of structure edges, the appearance ofstructure shapes based on the edges, the positions of the shapesrelative to landmarks in the ultrasound image data, and the like. Incertain embodiments, the anatomical structure may be a heart and thestandard views may include, among other things, a 4CH view, a 2CH view,an APLAX view, a PLAX view, a SAX-AP view, a SAX-PM view, a SAX-MV view,and/or any suitable standard view of the heart. The structuralinformation may include information regarding the edges, shapes, andpositions of ventricles, atria, papillary muscles, inferior wall, mitralvalve, apex, septum, and/or the like. In various embodiments, thedatabases of training scan planes may be stored in the archive 138 orany suitable data storage medium. In certain embodiments, the trainingengine 160 and/or training image databases may be external system(s)communicatively coupled via a wired or wireless connection to theultrasound system 100.

Components of the ultrasound system 100 may be implemented in software,hardware, firmware, and/or the like. The various components of theultrasound system 100 may be communicatively linked. Components of theultrasound system 100 may be implemented separately and/or integrated invarious forms. For example, the display system 134 and the user inputmodule 130 may be integrated as a touchscreen display.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart 300 illustrating exemplary steps 302-322 that maybe utilized for acquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views 210, inaccordance with various embodiments. Referring to FIG. 4 , there isshown a flow chart 300 comprising exemplary steps 302 through 322.Certain embodiments may omit one or more of the steps, and/or performthe steps in a different order than the order listed, and/or combinecertain of the steps discussed below. For example, some steps may not beperformed in certain embodiments. As a further example, certain stepsmay be performed in a different temporal order, includingsimultaneously, than listed below.

At step 302, a probe 104 of an ultrasound system 100 may be manuallymoved to a scan position while acquiring and displaying ultrasound imagescan planes 210. For example, the ultrasound system 100 may acquire scanplanes with an ultrasound probe 104 positioned at a scan position overregion of interest, such as an apical window or a parasternal windowover a heart.

At step 304, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 mayprocess the acquired scan planes to detect whether the acquired scanplanes include a first standard view. For example, a view identificationprocessor 140 of the signal processor 132 may receive the scan planesacquired by probe 104 at step 302. The view identification processor 140may perform image detection on the acquired scan planes 210 to identifya scan plane 210 having a first standard view. The view identificationprocessor 140 may apply image detection algorithms, one or more deepneural networks (e.g., a convolutional neural network) and/or mayutilize any suitable form of image detection techniques or machinelearning processing functionality configured to automatically identifystandard views of an anatomical structure provided in the acquired scanplanes. The standard view may correspond with an ultrasound probeposition and/or an anatomical structure being scanned. As an example,the anatomical structure may include a heart, fetus, or any suitableanatomical structure. The scan position if imaging a heart may include aparasternal window, an apical window, or any suitable scan position. Thestandard views when acquiring scan planes of the heart from aparasternal window may include, for example, a PLAX view, a SAX-AP view,a SAX-PM view, a SAX-MV view, and/or the like. The standard views whenacquiring scan planes of the heart from an apical window may include,for example, a 4CH view, a 2CH view, an APLAX view, and/or the like.

At step 306, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 maydetermine whether a first standard view has been identified. Forexample, the view identification processor 140 of the signal processor132 performs image detection on the acquired scan planes as described instep 304. The process proceeds to step 310 once the view identificationprocessor 140 identifies an acceptable standard view 210. In variousembodiments, an option may be selected by an ultrasound operator and/orautomatically selected after a predetermined elapsed time for systemassisted standard view location. For example, an ultrasound operator mayprovide a system assistance instruction via a user input module 130, anoption could be presented for selecting system assistance after apredetermined period of time, and/or system assistance may beautomatically selected after an elapsed time of an ultrasound operatormanually searching for a standard view, among other things. The processmay proceed to step 308 if a first standard view is not identified bythe view identification processor 140 and a system assistance option ismanually or automatically selected. Additionally and/or alternatively,steps 302 through 306 may be repeated until the ultrasound operatormanually positions the probe 104 at a position to acquire a scan plane210 having a first standard view as identified by the viewidentification processor 140.

At step 308, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 mayautomatically rotate the scan plane acquisitions and perform imagedetection on the acquired scan planes until a scan plane 210 having thefirst standard view is identified. For example, an image rotationprocessor 150 of the signal processor 132 may iteratively rotate thescan plane acquisition angle such that scan planes at differentacquisition angles may be acquired by an ultrasound probe 104 held in afixed position. The view identification processor 140 performs imagedetection on the scan planes acquired at the different acquisitionangles until the first standard view is identified. In variousembodiments, the image rotation processor 150 may additionally and/oralternatively tilt the scan plane acquisition angle in azimuth and/orelevation directions such that planes at different acquisitionrotational and/or tilt angles may be acquired by an ultrasound probe 104held in a fixed position. The view identification processor 140 performsimage detection on the scan planes acquired at the different acquisitionrotational and/or tilt angles until the first standard view isidentified.

At step 310, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 maydisplay the first standard view acquired at step 304 or 308. Forexample, the signal processor 132 may present the scan plane 210 of thestandard view on a display 200 of a display system 134. In variousembodiments, the signal processor 132 may store the scan plane of thestandard view at archive 138 or any suitable data storage medium. Thescan plane of the standard view may be stored automatically whenidentified by the view identification processor 140, in response to anultrasound operator selection via user input module 130, after apredetermined elapsed viewing time at the display system 134, or thelike.

At step 312, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 mayautomatically rotate the scan plane acquisition and perform imagedetection on the acquired scan plane to determine whether the scan planeprovides a desired and acceptable additional standard view. For example,the signal processor 132 may be executing a protocol specifying a set ofstandard views to acquire, present, and store. After acquiring,identifying, presenting, and storing a scan plane 210 having the firststandard view at steps 302 through 310, the signal processor may proceedto acquire and identify a next view according to the protocol. Asanother example, the signal processor 132 may receive an ultrasoundoperator instruction via user input module 130 for acquiring a selectedstandard view and may proceed to acquire and identify the selected viewaccording to the selection. An image rotation processor 150 of thesignal processor 132 may rotate the scan plane acquisition angle fromthe scan plane having the first standard view by a predetermined amountcorresponding with an expected scan acquisition angle of the additionalstandard view. For example, if the first standard view is a 4CH view andthe additional standard view is a 2CH view, the image rotation processor150 may rotate the scan plane acquisition angle −60 degrees from the 4CHview. As another example, if the first standard view is a 4CH view andthe additional standard view is an APLAX view, the image rotationprocessor 150 may rotate the scan plane acquisition angle −120 degreesfrom the 4CH view. The rotated scan planes are acquired by an ultrasoundprobe 104 held in a fixed position, as opposed to manually rotating aprobe by an ultrasound operator. The view identification processor 140performs image detection on the scan plane acquired at the predeterminedacquisition angle.

At step 314, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100determines whether a desired, acceptable, additional standard view hasbeen identified. In various embodiments, the acceptability of the scanplane may be based on a selected or default acceptance mode of thesystem. For example, an acceptable standard view may be a first standardview, an estimated best standard view, or a best standard view, amongother things. The first standard view mode involves presenting the firstselected standard view provided in a scan plane as identified by viewidentification processor 140. As an example, if the scan planeacquisition at −60 degrees rotation is identified as providing thedesired standard view by the view identification processor 140 at step314, the process proceeds to step 318. If the scan plane acquisition at−60 degrees rotation does not provide the desired standard view asdetermined by the view identification processor 140 at step 314, theprocess 300 proceeds to step 316.

The estimated best standard view mode involves identifying the outeredges in a range of angles for a particular standard view of aparticular patient and selecting the scan plane at the angle in themiddle of the identified range. According to this mode, multiple scanplane acquisitions are performed to identify the scan plane acquisitionangles corresponding with the outer edges having the desired standardview. The process 300 proceeds to step 316 to identify the desired,acceptable, additional standard view 210 if performing the estimatedbest standard view mode.

The best standard view mode involves identifying all angles for aparticular standard view of a particular patient and selecting the scanplane identified as having the highest quality by the viewidentification processor 140. According to this mode, multiple scanplane acquisitions are performed to identify the highest quality scanplane acquisition angle corresponding with the desired standard view.The process 300 proceeds to step 316 to identify the desired,acceptable, additional standard view 210 if performing the best standardview mode.

At step 316, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 maycontinue automatically rotating the scan plane acquisitions and performimage detection on the acquired scan planes until a scan plane havingthe desired and acceptable additional standard view is identified. Forexample, if the signal processor 132 is executing the first standardview acceptance mode and the scan plane acquired at step 312 did notprovide the desired standard view as determined by the viewidentification processor 140, the image rotation processor 150 of thesignal processor 132 may iteratively rotate the scan plane acquisitionangle such that scan planes at different acquisition angles may beacquired. The view identification processor 140 performs image detectionon the scan planes acquired at the different acquisition angles untilthe first standard view is identified. As another example, if the signalprocessor 132 is executing the estimated best standard view mode, theimage rotation processor 150 may iteratively rotate the scan planeacquisition angle such that scan planes at different acquisition anglesare acquired. The view identification processor 140 performs imagedetection on the scan planes acquired at the different acquisitionangles until the outer edges and a scan plane in the middle of the outeredges is identified. As another example, if the signal processor 132 isexecuting the best standard view mode, the image rotation processor 150may iteratively rotate the scan plane acquisition angle such that scanplanes at different acquisition angles are acquired. The viewidentification processor 140 performs image detection on the scan planesacquired at the different acquisition angles until all scan planeshaving the desired standard view are identified. The view identificationprocessor 140 applies image detection techniques to identify the desiredstandard view having the highest image quality. For example, the viewidentification processor 140 may select the scan plane having a closestmatch to a reference standard view and/or a least amount of imageartifacts. The closest match to the reference standard view may berepresented by a confidence level of a deep neural network (e.g.,convolutional neural network) trained to recognize standard views.

In various embodiments, a tilt operation may be performed in addition toand/or as an alternative to the rotation operation. For example, if anultrasound operator has positioned the ultrasound probe 104 at theparasternal window over a heart of a patient and acquired a scan planeproviding a PLAX view as the first standard view at steps 302 through310, the operator may desire to acquire one or more additional standardviews, such as a SAX-AP view, a SAX-PM view, a SAX-MV view, and/or thelike at steps 312 through 316. The image rotation processor 150 mayrotate −90 degrees from the PLAX view to acquire a SAX view at step 312.If the pre-determined −90 degree scan plane acquisition does not providean acceptable SAX view as identified by the view identificationprocessor 140 at step 314, the image rotation processor 150 mayiteratively rotate the scan plane acquisition until the viewidentification processor 140 identifies an acceptable scan plane of theSAX view at step 316. The rotation processor 150 may also iterativelyperform a tilt operation from the SAX view in the azimuth and/orelevation directions until the view identification processor 140identifies an acceptable scan plane of a SAX-MV view.

At step 318, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 maydisplay the additional standard view acquired at step 312 or 316. Forexample, the signal processor 132 may present the scan plane 210 of thestandard view on a display 200 of a display system 134. In variousembodiments, the signal processor 132 may store the scan plane of thestandard view at archive 138 or any suitable data storage medium. Thescan plane of the standard view may be stored automatically whenidentified by the view identification processor 140, in response to anultrasound operator selection via user input module 130, after apredetermined elapsed viewing time at the display system 134, or thelike.

At step 320, the signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100determines whether an additional standard view is desired. For example,the signal processor 132 may be executing a protocol specifying a set ofstandard views to acquire, present, and store. After acquiring,identifying, presenting, and storing a scan plane 210 having the firststandard view at steps 302 through 310 and an additional standard viewat steps 312 through 318, the signal processor 132 may proceed toacquire and identify a next view according to the protocol by proceedingfrom step 320 to repeat steps 312 through 320. As another example, thesignal processor 132 may receive an ultrasound operator instruction viauser input module 130 for acquiring an additional selected standard viewand may proceed to acquire and identify the selected view according tothe selection by proceeding from steps 320 to repeat steps 312 through320. The process 300 proceeds to step 322 if no additional standardviews are desired. At step 322, the process 300 ends.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method 300 and system 100for acquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views. In accordance withvarious embodiments, the method 300 may comprise acquiring 302, by anultrasound probe 104 positioned at a scan position over a region ofinterest, a scan plane 210. The method 300 may comprise identifying 304,306 the scan plane 210 as a first standard view. The method 300 maycomprise automatically adjusting 312, 316, by at least one processor132, 140, 150, a scan acquisition angle until a second standard view isdetermined 314, 316. The second standard view is different than thefirst standard view. The adjusting 312, 316 the scan acquisition anglemay comprise at least one of rotating and tilting the scan acquisitionangle. The method 300 may comprise acquiring 312, 316, by the ultrasoundprobe 104 positioned at the scan position, an additional scan plane 210at the adjusted scan acquisition angle until the second standard view isdetermined. 314, 316. The method 300 may comprise automaticallydetermining 312-316, by the at least one processor 132, 140, 150,whether the additional scan plane 210 is the second standard view. Themethod 300 may comprise presenting 318, at a display system 134, 200,the additional scan plane 210 having the second standard view.

In an exemplary embodiment, one or both of the scan plane 210 having thefirst standard view and the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view is stored 310, 318 at a data storage medium 138. Thestorage 310, 318 at the data storage medium 138 may occur automatically,by the at least one processor 132, 140, in response to at least one ofthe scan plane 210 having the first standard view and the additionalscan plane 210 having the second standard view being automaticallyidentified. The storage 310, 318 at the data storage medium 138 mayoccur in response to an instruction received via a user input module130. The storage 310, 318 at the data storage medium 138 may occur afterat least one of the scan plane 210 having the first standard view andthe additional scan plane 210 having the second standard view ispresented at the display system 134, 200 for a predetermined amount oftime. In certain embodiments, the automatically adjusting 132, 316 thescan acquisition angle and the acquiring 312, 316 the additional scanplane 210 is performed iteratively until the additional scan plane 210having the second standard view is automatically determined 312-316 bythe at least one processor 132, 140, 150.

In a representative embodiment, the identifying 304, 306 the scan plane210 as the first standard view may be performed by the at least oneprocessor 132, 140 applying machine learning algorithms to the scanplane 210. The automatically determining 312-316 whether the additionalscan plane 210 is the second standard view is performed by the at leastone processor 132, 140 applying the machine learning algorithms to theadditional scan plane 210. In various embodiments, the additional scanplane 210 having the second standard view may be automaticallydetermined 312-316 by the at least one processor 132, 140, 150 byselecting a first instance of the additional scan plane 210 having thesecond standard view. The additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view may be automatically determined 312-316 by the at leastone processor 132, 140, 150 by identifying a range of scan acquisitionangles corresponding to the second standard view and selecting a middlescan plane in a middle of the range of scan acquisition angles as theadditional scan plane 210 having the second standard view. Theadditional scan plane 210 having the second standard view may beautomatically determined 312-316 by the at least one processor 132, 140,150 by identifying all scan planes having the second standard view andselecting the additional scan plane 210 having the second standard viewbased at least in part on a closest match to a reference second standardview.

In certain embodiments, the method 300 may comprise automaticallyadjusting 308, by the at least one processor 132, 140, 150, the scanacquisition angle prior to acquiring the scan plane 210. Theautomatically adjusting 308 the scan acquisition angle and the acquiring308 the scan plane 210 is performed iteratively until the scan plane 210having the first standard view is automatically identified 308 by the atleast one processor 132, 140, 150. In an exemplary embodiment, themethod 300 may comprise presenting 310, at the display system 134, 200,the scan plane 210 having the first standard view in response to the atleast one processor 132, 140 automatically identifying the scan plane210 as the first standard view.

Various embodiments provide a system 100 for acquiring standardultrasound scan plane views. The system 100 may comprise an ultrasoundprobe 104, at least one processor 132, 140, 150, and a display system134, 200. The ultrasound probe 104 may be positioned at a scan positionover a region of interest and may be configured to acquire a scan plane210 and acquire an additional scan plane 210 at an adjusted scanacquisition angle until a second standard view is determined. The secondstandard view is different than a first standard view. The at least oneprocessor 132, 140, 150 may be configured to identify the scan plane 210as the first standard view. The at least one processor 132, 140, 150 maybe configured to automatically adjust a scan acquisition angle until thesecond standard view is determined. Adjusting the scan acquisition anglemay comprise at least one of rotating and tilting the scan acquisitionangle to provide the adjusted scan acquisition angle. The at least oneprocessor 132, 140, 150 may be configured to automatically determinewhether the additional scan plane 100 is the second standard view. Thedisplay system 134, 200 may be configured to present the additional scanplane 210 having the second standard view.

In an exemplary embodiment, the system 100 may comprise a user inputmodule 130 and a data storage medium 138. The user input module 130 maybe configured to receive instructions. The data storage medium 138 maybe configured to store one or both of the scan plane 210 having thefirst standard view and the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view. The storage at the data storage medium 138 may beprovided automatically, by the at least one processor 132, 140, inresponse to at least one of the scan plane 210 having the first standardview and the additional scan plane 210 having the second standard viewbeing automatically identified. The storage at the data storage medium138 may be provided in response to an instruction received via the userinput module 130. The storage at the data storage medium 138 may beprovided after at least one of the scan plane 210 having the firststandard view and the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view is presented at the display system 134, 200 for apredetermined amount of time. In various embodiments, the at least oneprocessor 132, 140, 150 automatically adjusts the scan acquisition angleand the ultrasound probe 104 acquires the additional scan plane 210iteratively until the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view is automatically determined by the at least one processor132, 140.

In a representative embodiment, the at least one processor 132, 140 maybe configured to apply machine learning algorithms to the scan plane 210to automatically identify the scan plane 210 as the first standard view.The at least one processor 132, 140 may be configured to apply machinelearning algorithms to the additional scan plane 210 to automaticallydetermine whether the additional scan plane 210 is the second standardview. In certain embodiments, the at least one processor 132, 140 mayautomatically determine whether the additional scan plane 210 is thesecond standard view by selecting a first instance of the additionalscan plane 210 having the second standard view. The at least oneprocessor 132, 140 may automatically determine whether the additionalscan plane 210 is the second standard view by identifying a range ofscan acquisition angles corresponding to the second standard view andselecting a middle scan plane in a middle of the range of scanacquisition angles as the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view. The at least one processor 132, 140 may automaticallydetermine whether the additional scan plane 210 is the second standardview by identifying all scan planes having the second standard view andselecting the additional scan plane 210 having the second standard viewbased at least in part on a closest match to a reference second standardview.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 132, 140, 150 may beconfigured to automatically adjust the scan acquisition angle prior toacquiring the scan plane 210. The at least one processor 132, 140, 150may automatically adjust the scan acquisition angle and the ultrasoundprobe 104 may acquire the scan plane 210 iteratively until the at leastone processor 132, 140 automatically identifies the scan plane 210having the first standard view. In an exemplary embodiment, the displaysystem 134, 200 may be configured to present the scan plane 210 havingthe first standard view in response to the at least one processor 132,140 automatically identifying the scan plane 210 as the first standardview.

Certain embodiments provide a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon, a computer program having at least one codesection. The at least one code section is executable by a machine forcausing the machine to perform steps 300. The steps 300 may compriseacquiring 302 a scan plane 210 from an ultrasound probe 104 positionedat a scan position over a region of interest. The steps 300 may compriseidentifying 304, 306 the scan plane 210 as a first standard view. Thesteps 300 may comprise automatically adjusting 312, 316 a scanacquisition angle until a second standard view is determined 314, 316.Adjusting the scan acquisition angle may comprise at least one ofrotating and tilting the scan acquisition angle. The second standardview is different than the first standard view. The steps 300 maycomprise acquiring 312, 316 an additional scan plane 210 at the adjustedscan acquisition angle from the ultrasound probe 104 positioned at thescan position until the second standard view is determined 314, 316. Thesteps 300 may comprise automatically determining 314, 316 whether theadditional scan plane 210 is the second standard view. The steps 300 maycomprise presenting 318 the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view at a display system 134, 200.

In an exemplary embodiment, one or both of the scan plane 210 having thefirst standard view and the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view is stored 310, 318 at a data storage medium 138. Thestorage 310, 318 at the data storage medium 138 may occur automaticallyin response to at least one of the scan plane 210 having the firststandard view and the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view being automatically identified 304-308, 312-316. Thestorage 310, 318 at the data storage medium 138 may occur in response toan instruction received via a user input module 130. The storage 310,318 at the data storage medium 138 may occur after at least one of thescan plane 210 having the first standard view and the additional scanplane 210 having the second standard view is presented 310, 318 at thedisplay system 134, 200 for a predetermined amount of time.

In a representative embodiment, the automatically adjusting 312, 316 thescan acquisition angle and the acquiring 312, 316 the additional scanplane 210 is performed iteratively until the additional scan plane 210having the second standard view is automatically determined 312-316. Incertain embodiments, the identifying 304-308 the scan plane 210 as thefirst standard view may be performed by applying machine learningalgorithms to the scan plane 210. The automatically determining 312-316whether the additional scan plane 210 is the second standard view isperformed by applying the machine learning algorithms to the additionalscan plane 210.

In various embodiments, the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view may be automatically determined 312-316 by selecting afirst instance of the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view. The additional scan plane 210 having the second standardview may be automatically determined 312-316 by identifying a range ofscan acquisition angles corresponding to the second standard view andselecting a middle scan plane in a middle of the range of scanacquisition angles as the additional scan plane 210 having the secondstandard view. The additional scan plane 210 having the second standardview may be automatically determined 312-316 by identifying all scanplanes having the second standard view and selecting the additional scanplane 210 having the second standard view based at least in part on aclosest match to a reference second standard view. In an exemplaryembodiment, the steps 300 may comprise automatically adjusting 308 thescan acquisition angle prior to acquiring the scan plane 210. Theautomatically adjusting 308 the scan acquisition angle and the acquiring308 the scan plane 210 is performed iteratively until the scan plane 210having the first standard view is automatically identified 308.

As utilized herein the term “circuitry” refers to physical electroniccomponents (i.e. hardware) and any software and/or firmware (“code”)which may configure the hardware, be executed by the hardware, and orotherwise be associated with the hardware. As used herein, for example,a particular processor and memory may comprise a first “circuit” whenexecuting a first one or more lines of code and may comprise a second“circuit” when executing a second one or more lines of code. As utilizedherein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in the list joinedby “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any element of thethree-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example, “x, y, and/orz” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y),(x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the term “exemplary”means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. Asutilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists ofone or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. Asutilized herein, circuitry is “operable” and/or “configured” to performa function whenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware andcode (if any is necessary) to perform the function, regardless ofwhether performance of the function is disabled, or not enabled, by someuser-configurable setting.

Other embodiments may provide a computer readable device and/or anon-transitory computer readable medium, and/or a machine readabledevice and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium, having storedthereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least onecode section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causingthe machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein foracquiring standard ultrasound scan plane views.

Accordingly, the present disclosure may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentdisclosure may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited.

Various embodiments may also be embedded in a computer program product,which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of themethods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system isable to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present contextmeans any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set ofinstructions intended to cause a system having an information processingcapability to perform a particular function either directly or aftereither or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, codeor notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition,many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings of the present disclosure without departingfrom its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosurenot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that thepresent disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: acquiring, by an ultrasoundprobe positioned at a scan position over a region of interest, a scanplane; identifying the scan plane as a first standard view; performing,until a second standard view is determined, wherein the second standardview is different than the first standard view: automatically adjusting,by at least one processor, a scan acquisition angle, wherein adjustingthe scan acquisition angle comprises at least one of rotating andtilting the scan acquisition angle by a pre-defined amount, and whereinthe pre-defined amount is defined prior to the acquiring the scan plane;acquiring, by the ultrasound probe positioned at the scan position, anadditional scan plane at the adjusted scan acquisition angle; andautomatically determining, by the at least one processor, whether theadditional scan plane is the second standard view, wherein theautomatically adjusting the scan acquisition angle and the acquiring theadditional scan plane is performed iteratively at the scan positionuntil the additional scan plane having the second standard view isautomatically determined by the at least one processor; and presenting,at a display system, the additional scan plane having the secondstandard view.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of the scanplane having the first standard view and the additional scan planehaving the second standard view is stored at a data storage medium atleast one of: automatically, by the at least one processor, in responseto at least one of the scan plane having the first standard view and theadditional scan plane having the second standard view beingautomatically identified; in response to an instruction received via auser input module; or after at least one of the scan plane having thefirst standard view and the additional scan plane having the secondstandard view is presented at the display system for a predeterminedamount of time.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of: theidentifying the scan plane as the first standard view is performed bythe at least one processor applying machine learning algorithms to thescan plane; and the automatically determining whether the additionalscan plane is the second standard view is performed by the at least oneprocessor applying the machine learning algorithms to the additionalscan plane.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional scan planehaving the second standard view is automatically determined by the atleast one processor by: selecting a first instance of the additionalscan plane having the second standard view; identifying a range of scanacquisition angles corresponding to the second standard view andselecting a middle scan plane in a middle of the range of scanacquisition angles as the additional scan plane having the secondstandard view; or identifying all scan planes having the second standardview and selecting the additional scan plane having the second standardview based at least in part on a closest match to a reference secondstandard view.
 5. The method of claim 1, comprising automaticallyadjusting, by the at least one processor, the scan acquisition angleprior to acquiring the scan plane, wherein the automatically adjustingthe scan acquisition angle and the acquiring the scan plane is performediteratively at the scan position until the scan plane having the firststandard view is automatically identified by the at least one processor.6. The method of claim 1, comprising presenting, at the display system,the scan plane having the first standard view in response to the atleast one processor automatically identifying the scan plane as thefirst standard view.
 7. A system comprising: an ultrasound probepositioned at a scan position over a region of interest configured to:acquire a scan plane; and acquire an additional scan plane at anadjusted scan acquisition angle until a second standard view isdetermined, wherein the second standard view is different than a firststandard view; at least one processor configured to: identify the scanplane as the first standard view; automatically adjust a scanacquisition angle until the second standard view is determined, whereinadjusting the scan acquisition angle comprises at least one of rotatingand tilting the scan acquisition angle to provide the adjusted scanacquisition angle by a pre-defined amount, and wherein the pre-definedamount is defined prior to the ultrasound probe acquiring the scanplane; and automatically determine whether the additional scan plane isthe second standard view; and a display system configured to present theadditional scan plane having the second standard view.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, comprising: a user input module configured to receiveinstructions; and a data storage medium configured to store one or bothof the scan plane having the first standard view and the additional scanplane having the second standard view at least one of: automatically, bythe at least one processor, in response to at least one of the scanplane having the first standard view and the additional scan planehaving the second standard view being automatically identified; inresponse to an instruction received via the user input module; or afterat least one of the scan plane having the first standard view and theadditional scan plane having the second standard view is presented atthe display system for a predetermined amount of time.
 9. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to applymachine learning algorithms to one or both of: the scan plane toautomatically identify the scan plane as the first standard view; andthe additional scan plane to automatically determine whether theadditional scan plane is the second standard view.
 10. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one processor automatically determineswhether the additional scan plane is the second standard view by:selecting a first instance of the additional scan plane having thesecond standard view; identifying a range of scan acquisition anglescorresponding to the second standard view and selecting a middle scanplane in a middle of the range of scan acquisition angles as theadditional scan plane having the second standard view; or identifyingall scan planes having the second standard view and selecting theadditional scan plane having the second standard view based at least inpart on a closest match to a reference second standard view.
 11. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein: the at least one processor is configured toautomatically adjust the scan acquisition angle prior to acquiring thescan plane, and the at least one processor automatically adjusts thescan acquisition angle and the ultrasound probe acquires the scan planeiteratively at the scan position until the at least one processorautomatically identifies the scan plane having the first standard view.12. The system of claim 7, wherein the display system is configured topresent the scan plane having the first standard view in response to theat least one processor automatically identifying the scan plane as thefirst standard view.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon, a computer program having at least one codesection, the at least one code section being executable by a machine forcausing the machine to perform steps comprising: acquiring a scan planefrom an ultrasound probe positioned at a scan position over a region ofinterest; identifying the scan plane as a first standard view;performing, until a second standard view is determined, wherein thesecond standard view is different than the first standard view:automatically adjusting a scan acquisition angle, wherein adjusting thescan acquisition angle comprises at least one of rotating and tiltingthe scan acquisition angle by a pre-defined amount, and wherein thepre-defined amount is defined prior to the acquiring the scan plane;acquiring an additional scan plane at the adjusted scan acquisitionangle from the ultrasound probe positioned at the scan position; andautomatically determining whether the additional scan plane is thesecond standard view, wherein the automatically adjusting the scanacquisition angle and the acquiring the additional scan plane isperformed iteratively at the scan position until the additional scanplane having the second standard view is automatically determined by theat least one processor; and presenting the additional scan plane havingthe second standard view at a display system.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 13, wherein one or both of the scanplane having the first standard view and the additional scan planehaving the second standard view is stored at a data storage medium atleast one of: automatically in response to at least one of the scanplane having the first standard view and the additional scan planehaving the second standard view being automatically identified; inresponse to an instruction received via a user input module; or after atleast one of the scan plane having the first standard view and theadditional scan plane having the second standard view is presented atthe display system for a predetermined amount of time.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein one or bothof: the identifying the scan plane as the first standard view isperformed by applying machine learning algorithms to the scan plane; andthe automatically determining whether the additional scan plane is thesecond standard view is performed by applying the machine learningalgorithms to the additional scan plane.
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 13, wherein the additional scan plane havingthe second standard view is automatically determined by: selecting afirst instance of the additional scan plane having the second standardview; identifying a range of scan acquisition angles corresponding tothe second standard view and selecting a middle scan plane in a middleof the range of scan acquisition angles as the additional scan planehaving the second standard view; or identifying all scan planes havingthe second standard view and selecting the additional scan plane havingthe second standard view based at least in part on a closest match to areference second standard view.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 13, comprising automatically adjusting the scanacquisition angle prior to acquiring the scan plane, wherein theautomatically adjusting the scan acquisition angle and the acquiring thescan plane is performed iteratively at the scan position until the scanplane having the first standard view is automatically identified.